The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffersDeepak Chopra

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InspirEmail No 241 - September 17th, 2012 - Good decisions start with stop'Inspirational messages to refresh the spirit and boost the emotional bank account'

Good decisions start with stop

More often than we like, most of us face choices that can have serious and lasting impact on our lives. Do we go along with the crowd? Do we tell someone off, quit a job, or end a relationship? Unfortunately, these decisions are not preceded by a drum roll warning us that the stakes are high. Even worse, we often don't have a lot of time to figure out what to do.

It's no surprise that most bad decisions - the ones that mess up our lives - are made impulsively or without sufficient reflection.

Ancient proverbs tell us to 'count to ten when you're angry' or 'think ahead.' But anger and lack of preplanning are only two factors that can impede excellent decision making. Fatigue, fear, frustration, stress, impatience, and emotions also create obstacles to wise choices.

Just as we learned to look both ways before we cross the street, we can learn to analyze every important decision-making situation to allow us to arrive at conclusions that are both effective and ethical.

Each decision, therefore, should start with a stop - a forced moment of reflection to help us clarify our goal, evaluate the completeness and credibility of our information, and devise an alternate strategy, if necessary, to achieve the best possible result. Stopping also allows us to muster our moral willpower to overcome temptations and emotions that could lead to a rash, foolish, or ill-considered decision.

While it's great to have a day or two to sleep on a problem, or even a few hours, many situations don't afford us that luxury. But a pause of even a few seconds can often be enough.

Written by Michael Josephson

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Motivating Others

There was once a small boy who banged a drum all day and loved every moment of it. He would not be quiet, no matter what anyone else said or did. Various attempts were made to do something about the child. One person told the boy that he would, if he continued to make so much noise, perforate his eardrums. This reasoning was too advanced for the child, who was neither a scientist nor a scholar.

A second person told him that drum beating was a sacred activity and should be carried out only on special occasions. The third person offered the neighbours plugs for their ears; a fourth gave the boy a book; a fifth gave the neighbours books that described a method of controlling anger through biofeedback; a sixth person gave the boy meditation exercises to make him placid and docile. None of these attempts worked.

Eventually, a wise person came along with an effective motivation. He looked at the situation, handed the child a hammer and chisel, and asked, 'I wonder what is inside the drum?' . . . No more problem.

Good leaders know how to motivate others. They pique (stimulate) their curiosity and tickle their sense of wonder. They teach them to dream and tempt them to do more than they ever thought possible. They challenge them to be a part of something great.

Pilot and author Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, 'If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.'

Do that and there will be no limit to the wondrous places they can travel.

Author Unknown

- Inspirational Quote -

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shapedAnthony Robbins